Top influencers on China's version of TikTok are twin brothers with over 100m followers

Twin brothers who star in their own video skits about daily life have become the most popular influencers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, amassing more than 100 million followers in four years. The account is the first run by individuals to amass more than 100 million followers in China. People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship mouthpiece, has 160 million followers on the platform and China Central Television, the state-owned broadcaster, has about 150 million followers. The popularity of Crazy Yang Brothers on Douyin, which has 600 million daily active users in China, exemplifies how short video has permanently changed China's internet landscape in the fields of entertainment, e-commerce and even information gathering. The trend has seen people like the Yang brothers emerge as top social media influencers with huge commercial value, able to leverage their reach to generate income by promoting goods and hosting live-streaming sales sessions. In one high profile case, Viya - whose real name is Huang Wei - was erased from China's cyberspace for alleged tax wrongdoings even though she was a top seller on Taobao, the e-commerce site run by Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post. "It is fair to say that China's social media platforms are dependent on influencers to drive traffic but Douyin is a little less dependent given the power of their algorithm to keep users glued ," said Mark Tanner, managing director at Shanghai-based research firm China Skinny.